1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an elastic bandage, and more particularly, concerns an elastic bandage for the simultaneous application of cold therapy and compression during use. 2. Description of the Prior Art
Cold therapy is oftentimes recommended, particularly when a limb of a person has been injured. In many instances merely holding an ice bag against the injured portion may be sufficient. On the other hand, the mere manual application of an ice bag to the injury does not include the therapeutic benefits of compression. Furthermore, holding the ice bag in place by hand is inconvenient.
A therapeutic elastic bandage described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,035 represents a recent attempt to overcome the deficiencies of manual ice bag application. Since the patented product uses an elastic bandage, the benefits of compression, along with cold therapy application, are said to be achieved. However, some problems still exist in the type of bandage described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,035. in particular, in applying the bandage to the person's limb, the cold pack area would have to be grasped. If the wrap is difficult to complete, holding the cold pack area for a long period of time might induce some discomfiture. Also, in the patented bandage, insertion and removal of the multiple cold packs is time consuming. Further, in applying the bandage described in the aforementioned patent, the stretch of the elastic material increases the spacing between the individual cold packs thereby creating a discontinuous cold application surface. Therefore, it can be seen that further improvements in this type of therapeutic elastic bandage are still being sought.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,822,705 describes a refrigerant wrap which could be applied under compression to the area of injury. However, this patent suffers from the same deficiencies as the bandage described in the previously discussed patent.